


The path of shadows. He chose power

by Taera



Series: The path of shadows [2]
Category: Assassin's Creed
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Available in Russian, Blood Drinking, Gen, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-11
Updated: 2016-02-11
Packaged: 2018-05-19 17:51:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5975916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taera/pseuds/Taera
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cormac was very glad that it was Master Monro who turned him into a vampire, not Achilles.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The path of shadows. He chose power

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Путь теней. Он выбрал силу](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5052121) by [Tatrien (Taera)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taera/pseuds/Tatrien). 



Shay understood now, why Liam and Hope had been behaving like that. He felt in his own blood, why, in the quarrels that took place, those two always sided with their Creator — Achilles. It couldn't have been any other way. And if at first, right after the Initiation, the urge to please his Master burned white-hot, later this need abated a little, became an inseparable part of him — it spread throughout his whole body, replacing its former acuteness with a delusive calmness of the storm clouds.

It was stronger than reason. When Master visited him after his first daylong sleep, Shay, not waking up properly yet, found himself on his knees even before he realized what was going on. He had sensed his Creator approaching, and instincts took over with ease. Shay, not accustomed to such things, at once tried to apologize for his behavior, but Master Monro reassured him with a gentle smile. When he caressed Shay's hair, his touch light and soft, and helped him to get up, Shay was convinced at last that everything was alright. Nobody was angry at him, and that meant he could continue showing his Master how delighted he was.

Every day for the last two weeks his Creator taught Shay how to use Corax powers, and his amiable instructions, along with the satisfaction that flashed every time Shay got successful in something, only tied them to one another stronger still. The bond between them (as Shay saw it in his imagination — a bright cord of light and warmth that glowed with Master's emotions) grew more powerful, it sang, momentarily telling them how the other felt. Every day seemed as a happy dream — because now Shay had best Master in the whole world, he even had a human friend with whom he didn’t have to conceal his nature. Only now and then Shay shuddered with fear “But what if Achilles did not delay my Initiation?”. After those pangs he always hurried to his Creator in need of his company, and if nobody was around, Shay fell to his knees at Master’s feet, allowing himself to be bold and daring, gratefully kissing his Master’s hands. Not a single time it angered Master Monro, even if by doing this Shay distracted him from important things.

And Cormac was no longer ashamed of his behavior; thought, he still felt uncomfortable while telling Master his thirst returned. Because Assyfs always sated it with ordinary people. Shay had never seen an Assyf to voluntarily give blood to his Child. And Master Monro even insisted that at first Shay drank only from him. Unheard-of generosity. And so Shay drank, gaining power with rapid strides, and every time his fangs sank into his Master’s flesh, a whirl of unreadable emotions boiled in Shay’s chest. No matter how he tried, he wasn’t able to analyze what he was feeling in these moments. He just knew that after each feeding he was more awed by his Creator than before.

One evening Gist stormed into Master’s room without knocking, bringing important news, obviously, and had witnessed another Cormac’s feeding, and to say that Christopher was surprised was extremely belittling. And, moreover, Shay noticed the human only after his Master laid a hand on his shoulder, prompting him to withdraw. Licking his lips, chasing the sweet taste of blood, Shay licked clean the place where he’d bitten and climbed down from Creator’s lap that he’d straddled for the feeding. Shay was a little tipsy, power pleasantly bubbling inside, yearning to get free, and he wanted to laugh when he saw how Gist’s face fell. Taking a seat in the corner, Shay watched silently his Master righting his clothes and then beckoning Christopher closer and accepting his report by blood (Gist didn’t bare his throat and allowed to drink only from the wrist).

And then he grasped Shay, dragged him away from busy Master and shoved into Shay’s room; after that he went into explaining some things. Things that, as it turned out, he knew because from his birth he was surrounded by Coraxes and was raised with the full understanding that sooner or later he’ll become one of them. Assyfs, on the other hand, never told Shay any vampire secrets, and he didn’t know a lot. And Master Monro taught him more practical and combat-useful skills, rather than ancient vampire traditions.

With every revelation Cormac sobered more and more. After all, as he learned soon enough, his and his Creator’s behavior broke several revered by vampires traditions simultaneously, and, were they in respectable company, they would’ve been definitely censured. Since, firstly, Master must not give his own blood to his Child; secondly, drinking from the throat is allowed only to partners and no-one else; and, thirdly, a Child must be raised with a harsh hand.

When Gist finished Shay was looking at him with wide eyes, surprised to no end, and Christopher even had the nerve to smirk and add that Shay’s attitude to his Creator was a direct consequence of those violations. And even if Shay understood, with some seventh sense of his, that Gist was right, and their behavior was far from normal, he couldn’t bring himself to care, he couldn’t help but rejoice once again at the fact that Assyfs delayed his Initiation for so long and allowed Master Monro to interfere.

Five days passed in relative calmness, and then Shay learned the step of blood (a vampire’s skill of those who were a hundred years old and more). Through the bond Master felt his thirst and again offered his blood — as a reward and encouragement allowing to drink more than usually. At first, Cormac happily agreed, and only after they both got to the Master’s bedroom, very familiar to Shay (it was here where he awoke as a vampire for the first time), he remembered what Gist told about customs. And as he saw that Master Monro started to untie his cravat with habitual movements, Shay lingered.

Quickly understanding the cause of his indecision, Master laughed, silently and not at all offensive:

“Mr. Cormac, in my company you do not have to worry about traditions,” even for a moment he didn’t stop his movements, continuing to bare his throat. “You have to become powerful as soon as possible, and the best way to do it is to drink strong blood.”

Seeing bare throat of his Master, Shay gulped nervously. Only now he suddenly realized that, actually, drinking from the jugular vein was quite an intimate process. And why on Earth he hadn’t thought about that earlier?

“Then let me drink from your wrist,” Shay wanted to, but couldn’t look away from the pale skin, surrounded by the snow-white collar of opened shirt.

Master Monro watched him for a second, then looked at his right hand, drowning in lacy cuff.

“Of course, you have every right to ask for that, Mr. Cormac, but think for yourself: is a tradition truly worth half of the power you can get?”

The most wonderful and horrific thing at the same time — Master Monro really bared his wrist and gave Shay the opportunity to choose.

And he chose power.


End file.
